Julian Lennon reflected on never knowing when a new Beatles project is underway, because he isn’t given access to the band’s affairs.
The son of John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia admitted it was a strange situation, but said he’d learned how to deal with it – and there was even a positive side.
“I’m not part of the inner circle – I never have been,” Lennon told the Guardian in a new interview. “[W]hen Dad left… it was just Mum and me, and we had nothing to do with the Beatles or Dad. I visited him on the odd occasion but we were very much on the outside.”
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He added that his half-brother Sean Lennon, who would be involved in any talks, had to remain silent over any plans. “I’m thankful that Sean and I get on like a house on fire – we’re best buddies,” he said. “[H]e tells me what he can, but things are pretty secret on the Beatles front.”
Agreeing that the situation was “extraordinarily strange,” he continued: “I’m not upset about it. I’d rather be excited and impressed by what they did and continue to do. As a fan, I’m just as curious as anybody else; although I do find myself going, ‘How is it possible that there’s another Beatles film?’”
Asked what drives him as an artist – along with his music career he’s a photographer and filmmaker – he admitted he’d been motivated to overcome the label of being Lennon’s son.
Julian Lennon ‘Heartbroken’ by New Band Experience
“I said, ‘What I need to do for me, first and foremost, is to build up a body of work, a foundation that I can stand on, that nobody can take away from me.’ And I continue to do so. It’s not to show off, it’s just to prove to myself that I can actually do this stuff. I’m not interested in fighting other people’s opinions.”
But he reported that he had no plans for a follow-up to his most recent album, 2022’s Jude. “I put a band together at the end of last year and did some rehearsals in Los Angeles, and I was amazed at how great we sounded,” he said.
“The idea was to hit a couple of the American late-night TV shows… but sadly nobody would have me on, so that was a bit of a letdown. I’m not saying I’m leaving music alone but I was heartbroken by that; I still am.”
